The theory has long been the realm of sci-fi flicks and philosophy debates. But it may not be as absurd as it sounds. A team of physicists in Japan has found "compelling" evidence for the idea, Nature reports ... And this is the simplest explanation you'll find.

The theory we exist in a holographic projection was first put forward by physicist Juan Maldacena in 1997.

The whole world is potentially a hologram. Not just Princess Leia. Picture: Star Wars/LucasfilmSource:NewsComAu

He proposed the universe has gravity that comes from infinitesimally thin, vibrating strings.

This intricate world of strings would exist in nine dimensions, plus the dimension of time.

The 'real world' would play out in a simpler, flatter cosmos where there is no gravity.

In two papers, Yoshifumi Hyakutake of Ibaraki University in Japan and his colleagues now provide, if not an actual proof, at least compelling evidence that Maldacena's conjecture is true.

Theorists such as Nick Bostrom, from Oxford University, claim the universe could be a simulation. Picture: The MatrixSource:NewsComAu

The team calculated the properties of a black hole and the internal energy of the cosmos without gravity - and the calculations matched.

The two seemingly very different worlds appeared identical.

"They have numerically confirmed, perhaps for the first time, something we were fairly sure had to be true, but was still a conjecture," said Leonard Susskind, one of the world's first theoreticians to explore the idea of holographic universes.

It's not proof we all live in a hologram ... but we're getting closer.